[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, stated on the 8th, "The government must withdraw its unjust interference with the (forced labor) court."
On this day, Lee said on Facebook, "The war criminal company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries continues to delay compensation for forced labor, delaying the restoration of victims' rights," adding, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' unnecessary actions have poured fuel on the fire."
He said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a statement to the Mitsubishi compensation court indicating that 'diplomatic efforts are underway to resolve the issue,' and Mitsubishi is using this as a basis to claim that 'since the Korean government is also making efforts, compensation should be withheld.' In a situation where the Japanese government and companies are not acknowledging responsibility and are stalling, our government has provided grounds for evading responsibility under the pretext of 'diplomatic resolution,'" criticizing the government.
He continued, "Moreover, the provision under which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted the statement (Civil Procedure Rules Article 134, Paragraph 2) was created during the Park Geun-hye administration, and even then, criticism arose that it was used to interfere with forced labor rulings," adding, "It is difficult to avoid the criticism that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is abusing a product of judicial manipulation from the Park Geun-hye government."
Lee urged the government, "I hope you will take the lead in protecting forced labor victims and restoring their rights," emphasizing, "Furthermore, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries must also sincerely apologize and properly fulfill its legal compensation responsibilities."
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